In high heavens, Hanuman , monkey-god of India, and Sun Wukong, the monkey king of China, were having lunch together. They got along very well since they were both monkeys and people had a great amount of respect for both of them in their home countries. Hanuman had a calm and respectful nature while Sun Wukong was a famous prankster and a troublemaker. After Hanuman and Sun were done with their lunch, Sun suggested a sparring match with Hanuman. Hanuman accepted the challenge and they began their sparring match. Possessing an immeasurable amount of power, Hanuman and Sun began to shake the whole high heavens. Sun with his Ruyi Bang staff was trying to strike Hanuman from a distance while Hanuman used his mace, gada, to block Sun's attacks. As the fight between Sun and Hanuman began to intensify, Hanuman threw his mace towards Sun Wukong to end the match. Sun Wukong deflected Hanuman's mace with his rod and stood there proud.

Sun Wukong: That's all you got? Come on, Hanuman, I was expecting more from you!

As Sun Wukong was talking, he noticed that Hanuman stood completely frozen. Sun quickly turned his head towards the direction that Hanuman was staring. Sun Wukong noticed that they had destroyed the statue of Buddha when he deflected Hanuman's mace. Remembering that he had been imprisoned for five hundred years by Buddha after causing trouble, Sun Wukong tried to convince Hanuman to run away with him.

Sun Wukong: Hanuman, we can't confess! He will imprison me again!

Hanuman: I don't know what to do, Sun... the situation is very dire...

Hanuman was conflicted. Hanuman had been taught to follow and respect lord Vishnu and Buddha was the ninth reincarnation of Vishnu. Hanuman also couldn't sell out Sun Wukong since they were close friends.

Hanuman: I will accompany you, Sun, but the moment we get caught, I cannot lie to my lord.

Sun Wukong: There is no way we will get caught! We will hide out for couple of days and I am sure that Buddha will forget about it.

Hanuman and Sun Wukong hid in the woods after they broke the statue of Buddha. Since they were close friends, they promised each other not to betray one another.

Hanuman: Hey, Sun, you think we'll be okay? I feel super guilty that we broke Lord Buddha's statue...

Sun Wukong: I am sure Buddha's not going to find us in this forest.

Hanuman: But he's Buddha... He is considered the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu... I can't do this. I was supposed to serve him.

Sun Wukong: You worry too much. Let's forget about the statue and try to enjoy ourselves.

At that moment, they heard a loud voice coming from the skies. Both Hanuman and Sun knew that it was Buddha's voice. As they both trembled in fear, Sun summoned his somersault cloud and flew away. Realizing that Sun left him alone, Hanuman stood still to receive his punishment. Sun was watching from the skies when Buddha came down to talk to Hanuman. Sun saw Buddha whispering to Hanuman and after he was finished, Buddha went back up to the high heavens. Sun came down and asked Hanuman a question.

Sun Wukong: What did he say to you?

Hanuman: He advised me not to believe in a friend who runs away by himself.

Author's Note: I got this story from the Aesop's Fable, the bear and the travelers. The original story is about two friends who encounter a bear in the woods. Same as the story above, one friend abandons the other friend and hides in the top of the tree. Another friend plays dead to avoid getting eaten by the bear. The bear advises the friend, who is playing dead, not to trust in false friends. I just added Hanuman and Sun Wukong in this story to see how both of the monkey kings would react. As soon as I read about Hanuman, I decided to combine Sun Wukong and create an adventure with both of them being in the same story. Sun Wukong is really famous in Asian countries and I was already familiar with Sun Wukong's background and his adventures. I feel like Hanuman and Sun Wukong have good chemistry together since they are both considered to be a monkey king and both of the possess amazing powers and talents. It was hard combining both of the character in a single story so I had to bit of a research and eventually came to add them to a story in Aesop's Fable.

Bibliography: Aesop's Fables, Aesop

Sun Wukong, Wikipedia

Vishnu and Buddha, Wikipedia

Image of Sun Wukong (Journey to the West) provided by Wikimedia . Link here.